Secure by design 2024

Our Secure by Design magazine this year explores some of the practical ways in which you can implement a secure by design approach, and build a security-focused culture in your organisation.

Many leaders now have an understanding of the concept of secure by design, and the need to manage their cyber risk up front; getting buy-in to the controls needed from the outset, rather than waiting until vulnerabilities and problems are identified. Putting this into practice, however, may seem to some like an uphill struggle, especially against a backdrop of new technological advances, for example, artificial intelligence (AI) and evolving virulent threat – where do you start?

To help simplify this complexity, my article, ‘Going with the grain’ suggests that you can utilise the knowledge, structures and processes already in place in your organisation to support you to become secure by design. Using a three lines of defence approach – your employees; your policies, procedures and practices; and your lines of reporting and escalation, you can ensure strong, interwoven organisational protection that everyone is a part of, and committed to.

Tim Cooper explores the secure by design policy angle in more depth in his article ‘Three little words – but how many meanings?’ He compares the use of the term ‘secure by design’ by UK Government and the Ministry of Defence, considering the common principles and foundations that underly both organisations' security goals.

Our critical national infrastructure, including that of transportation, is crucial to the seamless functioning of our society. Chloe Hodson’s article asks if low security maturity in the aviation sector might result in a threat to this mode of travel, and proposes that security is at the forefront of aviation, to future-proof the novel lower-emission vehicles being developed.

Using learning from a rail project, Pratik Waghela and Matt Simpson consider how a holistic approach and ‘defence in depth’ methodology can help protect transport’s core operational technologies.

For those developing and implementing AI solutions, Anna Lewis offers ten key steps that can help organisations overcome the ‘valley of death’ – the challenging phase between research and operationalisation. As with all solutions, of course, security needs to be embedded within your design and considered at every stage.

The ‘people’ aspect of security is hugely important, so David Cole shares his experience of encouraging people to behave in a cyber secure way, recommending a personal touch to grow digital trust. Chloe Gibbs proposes that organisations will need to shift their perceptions of soft skills to close the cyber skills gap, while Suzanne Wharton shares her career journey from the military to cyber security to show that, whatever your background, there’s a role for you in cyber.

Finally, we take a look at some common beliefs and opinions about cyber security, de-bunking some of the myths that surround the sector. I hope you enjoy reading the magazine.

If any of the topics strike a chord, or you would like to talk about secure by design in theory and practice, please get in touch. We’ve also included regional points of contact at the back of the magazine, who will be more than happy to help.

Secure by design 2024

John Connolly